The Book of Acts
Acts: An Introduction Part One Read about the Author of Acts in a Study Bible. Then answer the questions below. 1. Who is the commonly accepted author of the book of Acts? 2. What do the language, style and content of the book of Acts tell us about the author? 3. Read Acts 13:4. Then read Acts 16:10 and the Study Note about this verse. What do you notice about the narrator of these two verses? Part Two Read about the Date and Occasion of Acts in the Study Bible. Then answer the questions below. (Josephus was an ancient Greek historian writing a little later than the New Testament writers.) 1. What information makes the date of Acts a little difficult to determine? 2. What arguments are made supporting a date prior to AD 70 (when the Temple was destroyed by the Romans)? 3. What would it have meant for Theophilus to have been Luke s patron? 4. Read Luke 1:2. Where did Luke like to get his information? Acts Study A. Paige Britton 2015 Page 2
Acts: Reading or Listening to a Chapter at a Time Read along in your Bible, or listen to a recording and pretend you are in the early church, listening to someone read aloud the adventures of the apostles and their friends and enemies. After reading or listening to one chapter, do the following: 1. Note any times that the Father, Son, or Spirit was involved on the True Things pages. 2. Using your Bible as a reference, jot down information about several important people from today s section on the Interesting People pages. (Sometimes you will be adding to what you have written earlier about a person.) 3. Record the geographical area that you heard about on the Geography pages. *** Here are the main stories in Acts. Check them off as you read them! *** (I noted what part of GEOGRAPHY each one tells about, so you can find the right line on those pages.) Acts 1:1-11 (Jerusalem) Acts 1:12-26 (Jerusalem) Acts 2:1-13 (Jerusalem) Acts 2:14-41 * (Jerusalem) Acts 2:42-47 (Jerusalem) Acts 3:1-10 (Jerusalem) Acts 3:11-26 (Jerusalem) Acts 4:1-22 (Jerusalem) Acts 4:23-31 (Jerusalem) Acts 4:23-37 (Jerusalem) Acts 5:1-16 (Jerusalem) Acts 5:17-42* (Jerusalem) Acts 6:1-7 (Jerusalem) Acts 6:8-15 (Jerusalem) Acts 7* (Jerusalem) Acts 8:1-25 (Judea, Samaria) Acts 8:26-40 (Judea) Acts 9:1-25 (Rest of World) Acts 9:26-31 (Jerusalem) * You will probably want to break long passages like this into two or three readings! If you are listening to it, you may be able to do the whole thing in one sitting, though. Acts 9:32-43 (Rest of World) Acts 10* (Rest of World) Acts 11:1-18 (Jerusalem) Acts 11:19-30 (Rest of World) Acts 12* (Jerusalem) Acts 13* (Rest of World) Acts 14* (Rest of World) Acts 15* (Jerusalem) Acts 16* (Rest of World) Acts 17* (Rest of World) Acts 18* (Rest of World) Acts 19* (Rest of World) Acts 20* (Rest of World) Acts 21* (Jerusalem) Acts 22* (Jerusalem) Acts 23* (Jerusalem) Acts 24* (Judea Caesarea) Acts 25* (Judea Caesarea) Acts 26* (Judea Caesarea) Acts 27* (Rest of the World) Acts 28* (Rest of the World) Acts Study A. Paige Britton 2015 Page 3
True Things about God the Father
True Things about the Son Acts Study A. Paige Britton 2015 Page 5
True Things about the Holy Spirit Acts Study A. Paige Britton 2015 Page 6
Interesting People in Acts (Keep adding details about these people each time they show up in the story!) Name Luke Jesus Chapters where we see this person Who was this person? What did they do? Peter John Philip Stephen James Barnabas Acts Study A. Paige Britton 2015 Page 7
Ananias & Sapphira Saul = Paul Ananias (Who lived in Damascus) Mark Timothy Tabitha (Dorcas) Priscilla & Aquilla Acts Study A. Paige Britton 2015 Page 8
Add other people that you find interesting to this chart: Name Chapters where we see this person Who was this person? What did they do? Acts Study A. Paige Britton 2015 Page 9
Name Chapters where we see this person Who was this person? What did they do? Acts Study A. Paige Britton 2015 Page 10
Geography in Acts And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8 What happened in JERUSALEM Chapter Acts 1 Events that happened in Jerusalem Acts 2 Acts 3 Acts 4 Acts 5 Acts 6 Acts 7 Acts 9:26-30 Acts 11:1-18 Acts Study A. Paige Britton 2015 Page 11
Chapter Acts 12:1-25 Events that happened in Jerusalem Acts 15 Acts 21 Acts 22 Acts 23 What happened in SAMARIA (North of Jerusalem, south of Galilee) Chapter Acts 8:4-25 Events that happened in Samaria Acts Study A. Paige Britton 2015 Page 12
What happened in JUDEA (Find these places on a map!) Chapter Acts 8:1 (Judea) Events that happened in Judea Acts 8:26-40 (Road from Jerusalem to Gaza) Acts 9:31 Acts9:32-35 (Lydda) Acts 9:36-43 (Joppa) Acts 10 (Joppa & Caesarea by the Sea) Acts 24 (Paul is in prison in Caesarea by the sea) Acts 25 (Stil in Caesarea) Acts 26 (Stil in Caesarea) Acts Study A. Paige Britton 2015 Page 13
What happened in THE REST OF THE WORLD Chapter Acts 9:1-25 (Damascus is in Syria) Acts 11:19-30 (This Antioch is in Syria) Acts 13:1-3 (Same Antioch) Acts 13:4-12 (Cyprus is an island! Find it!) Acts 13:13-52 (This is another Antioch in the middle of what is Turkey today.) Acts 14:1-7 (Iconium is nearby.) Acts 14:8-23 (Lystra is, too.) Acts 14:24-28 (Antioch in Syria again) Acts 16:1-5 (Derbe is in Turkey) Acts 16:6-40 (Philippi was an important city in Macedonia.) Acts 17:1-9 (Thessalonica was nearby.) Acts 17:10-15 (Berea was to the south.) (Find these places on a map!) Events that happened in the Rest of the World Acts Study A. Paige Britton 2015 Page 14
Chapter Acts 17:16-34 (Athens is in Greece.) Acts 18:1-17 (Corinth is in Greece.) Acts 18:18-23 (Antioch in Syria again) Acts 18:24-28 (Ephesus is in Turkey, across from Greece) Acts 19 (Still in Ephesus) Events that happened in the Rest of the World Acts 20:1-6 (Macedonia & Greece again) Acts 20:7-38 (Troas & Miletus are on the coast of Turkey) Acts 27 (Mediterranean Sea!) Acts 28:1-10 (Malta is a little island! Find it!) Acts 28:11-31 (ROME!) Acts Study A. Paige Britton 2015 Page 15